Upper School News & Stories

For her senior independent project, Lauren Park ’16 drew inspiration from early Korean landscape painting on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and visual motifs from the popular culture of her childhood.

For one month, she worked on an imaginary landscape featuring the mountainous terrain of the Korean masterpieces, but using unconventional materials and pop culture iconography. “The way I lived when I was young was affected by my imagination,” she said. “I liked the process of creating this idea.”

Seen at a distance, the painting gives an impression of ethereal mountain peaks. Up close, there are surprises that reflect the aspirations and fears of her childhood: Mulan, the Disney warrior princess; Bruce the Shark from the movie, Finding Nemo; Teletubbies; Santa Claus; the golden ticket from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

She went into the project with a clear concept. She wanted the materials to heighten her idea, which led to experimentation with crumpled tissue paper, modeling paste, acrylic paint, and charcoal to create texture, pattern, lightness, and darkness.

On June 1, she presented her work to an audience of teachers and friends. She showed small canvases where she experimented with techniques alongside her finished piece. The “slow process,” as she described it, was a source of pride. She wanted to bring in a lot of elements, and she wanted the piece to suggest reality and illusion. Most of all, she wanted to try out different styles and experiment with an unconventional technique. She succeeded in expressing something deeply personal in an original way.